


The Secrets of Mythological Creatures

by Tacuma



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Steve, Fairy Natasha, M/M, Sassy Steve, Science Bros, Sex on the Beach, centaur Clint, merman steve, non-powered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2018-02-03 00:25:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1724393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tacuma/pseuds/Tacuma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce Banner had an accident with gamma radiation and ended up being stuck with the Hulk. Together with his billionair friend Tony Stark he travels the world in search for a solution. When human methods don't work they start hunting mythological creatures. They capture them and search through their DNA for a solution. None of the creatures can help them, until they catch merman Steve. He is willing to travel the world with them and help them find things humans would normally never get to see. In return Tony and Bruce show Steve things he has never seen or done before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Secrets of Mythological Creatures

**Author's Note:**

> Omg, this was hell to write. I wanted to make this like 5k, but I just couldn't stop writing. Please forgive my writing style, I know there are awkward sentences in there and probably some mistakes. English is not my first language. Many thanks to my lovely betas!
> 
> I don't own anything!

A beautiful blond merman with a gorgeous long blue tail swam through the dark water of the sea. He was unusually close to the surface. So close that he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin, even in the normally cold water. It felt amazing and he wished it could happen more often.

 

He hardly finished that thought when his hands were caught in a net. He tried to pull away, but he was already stuck. He used his tail, trying to swim backwards out of the nets, but his tail got stuck as well. The net was slowly lifted towards the surface.

 

The merman twisted and turned. He managed to rip the net in several places, but it was in vain. He was already pulled out of the water, onto the ship. Men were shouting at each other, several hands grabbed him. The blond tried to pull away, tried to hit his attackers, but there were too many. He ended up in a strange big bathtub.  One the men grabbed his arm, jammed a needle in it and everything went dark.

 

~

 

 

‘Two days, Bruce!’ whined the brilliant scientist, billionaire and engineer Tony Stark. ‘He has been in there for two days and he still hasn’t shown himself! Maybe I should have built a tank where he couldn’t hide. I gave him everything he needs, made the damned tank as comfortable as possible, but still he won’t show himself!’

 

‘He is used to hiding; he has been hiding his entire life. As I told you before,  if you want I could tell you again,’ said Bruce Banner, the super smart physicist, with a small smile. ‘We caught him and locked him up. If someone involuntary dragged you out of your house and locked you up, you’d be pissed too.’

 

‘Yeah, yeah, I know,’ sighed the dark-haired man, still standing next to the glass wall of the tank. ‘You told me that when we caught that Yeti in the Himalaya’s, when we found those troll-like things in the Sahara, when we brought in those gnomes from Canada, when we locked up the centaur from the Black Forest, who hasn’t shown himself either, and you even said it after that black bat fairy from Russia bit me! I thought I’d turn into a fucking vampire or something! We’re trying to find a cure for you here, not trying to turn me into a green rage monster as well.’

 

‘Then be more careful, because you don’t really have the temper to deal with a green rage monster inside of you. Why don’t we sit down and review the information we already have?’

 

The two scientists dropped down on the too old desk chairs and with a swing of Tony’s arm a picture appeared in the air, seemingly out of nowhere. It was an x-ray of the merman. His upper body looked like that of the average male, but from his waist down it looked like the average giant fish.

 

‘So, half human, half fish, the only thing that is truly surprising is that he has lungs,’ said the engineer.

 

Bruce put on his glasses to take a better look, even though he’d seen it several times before. ‘Lungs and gills. He can breathe inside and outside of the water. From the moment he was born he was prepared for live on land and in the sea. And here I thought a merman and a centaur would be our best bet. Two creatures combined in one, like me, but they were born like that while I got an extra one thrown upon me.’

 

‘We’ll find a way to get rid of that Hulk inside of you, Bruce,’ said Tony, putting a hand on Bruce’s knee. ‘Maybe he has a was to switch between breathing through his gills and with his lungs. He has to switch, maybe we can use that gene so you can switch between being Banner and being the Hulk. Any luck with testing his blood or looking at his DNA?’

 

‘It’s been two days!’ sighed Bruce, taking his glasses off again and rubbing his temples. Tony tried his best and he meant well, but he could be tiring to be around. ‘ I searched through a tiny part of his DNA, but it’s going to take a long time to figure out if there is something that could help me. I haven’t even started on the blood tests yet.’

 

‘Peter will be back tomorrow; we’ll let him take a look at the blood,’ said Tony as he stood up and walked back to the tank. ‘Thought interns were supposed to be stupid and that we had to teach him everything, but the kid seems to know more than he should. Let’s use that. In the meantime, what will we feed that merman? I threw living fishes in there, I threw dead fishes in there, fruits, vegetables, anything I could think of! The fruits and vegetables are still float around, he threw the dead fish out and the living fishes are the only things I see swimming in this damned tank!’

 

‘You put dead fish in his water?’ asked Bruce. ‘And you’re surprised he throws them out? Remember what I told you about kidnapping someone out of their home and…’

 

‘Yeah, yeah, I know. Not doing that again! But we need him alive!’

 

‘He is probably refusing to eat, just like the centaur,’ said the physicist. ‘We can’t force him, but we’re not going to let him die either. Give him a little more time. When was the last time he adjusted the conditions of the water?’

 

Tony walked to the computer and checked. ‘Two hours ago. He adjusted the water salt level and the temperature.’

 

‘So he is still alive and we can even assume he can read. How else would he know which buttons to use? This merman is not some stupid creature, unlike those trolls. Give him some time, be patient. Why don’t you try to get some answers out of our centaur in the meantime?’

 

The billionaire snorted, mumbled something about the stubborness of centaurs, but he did approach the little caged forest in their lab.

 

 

~

 

 

In the middle of the night the merman swam towards the glass wall and checked the room. With the two scientists gone, the laboratory was completely dark. Darkness was no problem for the blond half-man, the deep sea was one of the darkest places possible, his eyes were better in the dark than in bright daylight. When he noticed movement in the cage of the centaur, the merman swam to the surface and grabbed one of the pillars in the corners of the tank. He hoisted himself up with his arms and climbed out of the water. The moment his tail touched the pillar it seemed like thousands glistening blue scales fell off and revealed two strong legs. The now naked blond slowly walked towards the centaur cage.

 

‘You have legs,’ stated the centaur.

 

‘Yeah,’ smiled the merman. ‘If I want to. Are you alright? I heard them talking to you today.’

 

‘I’ve been locked up for a long time already and no matter how many plants they will put in in this damned cage, it will still be a cage.’

 

‘What is your name?’

 

‘Clint.’

 

‘Nice to meet you, Clint. I think my name would be pronounced as ‘Steve’ here. Things work a little differently under water.’ Steve sat down. He could use his legs like a human, but he wasn’t used to standing for a long time. ‘Do you have any idea why they’re keeping us here? I listened to them, but I didn’t understand much of it.’

 

'Yeah, I know what this is about, I saw it once,' started Clint. He sat down as well and Steve knew this was going to be a long story. Centaurs didn’t sit down easily. 'The guy with the glasses, I think his name is Bruce, is the patient one. But when he gets pissed he completely loses his shit. He turns into a huge green monster! Nothing like I've ever seen before. When he was like that he didn’t seem to see or hear anything, he simply destroyed everything in his way. This room was wrecked! It was the only time I was glad to be locked up in this cage. The other guy, Tony, managed to calm him down somehow. Thought he was going to be crushed, because that monster is huge, his head almost reached the ceiling here. Apparently they're trying to find a cure for him or at least a way to control it. Nothing human could help him, so they tried with guys like us. Don't know how they found out about our existence, but they think we might have something in our bodies that could help them. Especially people like you and me, since we're a combination of two creatures. They think we possess something that let us be both at the same time.'

 

'Wow,' said Steve. 'I don't know anything about such things, but I don't want them searching through my body. Did they do something to you?'

 

‘I don't understand what they want from us either. I've been here for more than a month, but they didn't touch me. They didn't even come into the cage,' answered the half-horse. 'I don't know what they did when I was unconscious, but I woke up in this cage and they never touched me. Only tried talking to me.'

 

'What did they talk about?' asked the merman. His blue eyes were big in surprise of all the new things he heard.

 

'I didn't talk to them!' said Clint angry. 'They took my bow! We centaurs get our bow on the day we're born, you don't take that away from them! I'm not helping until I get my bow back. I don't care about the arrows, but...'

 

Clint stopped talking when they heard a noise. Steve sat up, listened carefully, before he jumped to his feet and ran to the tank. The noises got louder, someone opened the door. The merman climbed up the ladder in the corner of the tank and jumped into the water. The moment the water touched his legs they turned back in the blue tail. He immediately disappeared from view.

 

 

~

 

 

Tony blinked. And blinked again. He had been awake for about thirty six hours now, but he was sure he had seen something move. No, not something, someone. Someone had climbed the tank and ended up in the water, he was sure of it. There were still little waves in the water and that wasn't because of the filters!

 

He walked to the tank and peered into the water. Everything was a bit blurry, but there was nothing other than those little fishies. Slowly Tony's brain started working again and he made his way to the computers. With a few commands he got the footage of the video cameras on screen. He rewind it until a few minutes before he entered.

 

The billionaire's mouth fell open with what he saw. The merman climbed out of the tank and got legs! He rewind again and again and again until his hazy brain was sure it was the merman and not some ghost or an intruder. So the merman had legs. Tony didn't fully realize what that meant. Instead he continued watching. What had the blond been doing?

 

The genius watched the videos from the different cameras. He saw how the man was a bit unsteady on his legs and balanced himself before he walked to the cage of the centaur. They were talking. Tony quickly grabbed the headphones and listened. They weren't speaking English, or were they? He didn't understand what they were talking about, but he was feeling a little dizzy and couldn't concentrate. He put the headphones away and grabbed his phone instead. He had to talk to someone who definitely spoke English.

 

'Bruce, the merman walked!'

 

_'Tony, it's four in the morning, go to bed.'_

'No, listen, really!' said Tony loudly. 'The merman had legs! His tail changed in legs! He must have some gene that makes it possible for him to change!'

 

 _'I'll see you at nine,'_ said Bruce and he simply hung up.

 

The billionaire scoffed, threw his phone aside and played the video again. He could do this without Bruce! He would find something useful before that lazy ass would arrive.

 

Tony woke up when intern Peter kicked his chair. The poor genius was so startled that he fell off his chair, almost hitting his head against the desk. With a groan he got up and checked the clock. Quarter to nine. Thank God Bruce hadn’t been the one to find him sleeping after waking the man in the middle of the night. He might not have been as kind as Peter.

 

‘Morning, mister Stark,’ grinned the intern. ‘Are you so head over heels for our merman that you didn’t want to leave him alone last night? Have to tell you, that centaur is great competition! Have you seen how well hung he is?’

 

Tony rubbed his eyes. He wanted to make a joke about Peter and horses, but couldn’t come up with anything. See, sleeping didn’t help at all, he should have just stayed awake.

 

‘He and our merman can have some fun then.’

 

‘That is going to be very difficult with fish tail,’ said Peter as he started up his computer and checked the little tubes of blood that were waiting on his desk. ‘I still wonder where the little mermen come from. Probably eggs or something. Only solution I can think of.’

 

‘Wrong,’ said the billionaire. He was making himself a cup of coffee and gulped down half of it as soon as it was done. ‘Don’t know how he is hiding it, but our merman has a very big dick.’

 

‘What?’

 

'Last night the merman came out of the water and he got legs and a ridiculous big dick,' said Tony, like that explained everything. He opened the video and let Peter watch.

 

'Okaaaaay, so we reached human perfection in a creature that isn't even human,' said the intern. 'I feel slightly embarrassed about that. And you were masturbating to this all night?'

 

'I fell asleep while trying to figure out what they were talking about!' Tony defended himself. He was known for flirting with anything beautiful on legs and well, the merman had legs now too.

 

'So you fell asleep?' grinned Bruce as he entered the room. 'And what wonderful things have you found out before you dozed off?'

 

'Nothing,' muttered Tony, not wanting to admit it. He quickly finished his coffee and got another one. 'I'm going to try and figure out what they're saying while you guys are being biological geniuses, but before we start we have another problem to solve. Our merman still hasn't eaten.'

 

'Have you tried flake food?' asked Peter. 'Human perfection or not, he is also a fish.'

 

'He is not the average gold fish,' said Tony and he rolled his eyes.

 

'It's worth a try,' shrugged Bruce.

 

'Alright, I'll get some fish food!' groaned the billionaire. 'Gotta get myself some breakfast anyway, we’re out of coffee. Do you want something? Yes? Too bad, I'm not bringing you anything. You're teaming up against me.'

 

 

~

 

 

Steve had been watching his three captors. They had finally given him some edible food, but they didn't bother to check if he would eat it. Weren't they trying to find out more about him? He ate the food. All of it. He had been so hungry! It took the men hours before they noticed and gave him more. They watched the tank for a few minutes, but then returned to their desks. Somehow they could study him from behind their desk. Steve didn't understand much of technology, let alone human technology, but that was probably also how they found out he had been out of the tank.

 

That night he was more careful. He hoisted himself up and rested his arms on the edge of the tank. This way he could see Clint and talk to him without actually being out of the water.

 

'Clint?'

 

'Yup, right here!' waved the centaur from behind the bars.

 

'Do you know who's in the third cage?' asked Steve, eyeing the box-like thing next to the tank.

 

'Yes, Natasha, she is a black fairy. She can get out, she has been planning her escape, but she's probably trying to figure out if she can trust you.'

 

'A black fairy?' Steve asked. 'Aren't they like bats?'

 

He eyed the cage again. He opened his mouth and a clicking sound came out. He frowned when he heard himself and tried again. It was easier to do this under water, the sounds flowed easier and reached further.

 

'What are you doing?!' asked Clint.

 

'Shut up, I'm trying something!' said Steve before making the sound again. He wasn't sure he was doing it right and he was about to give up when he got a reply. He smiled happily when he saw a tiny woman looking through the bars. She was about 20 cm tall and completely dressed in black. Her skin was very light. The only colours on her were her orange red hair and her blood red lips. But the fairies weren't named after the way they dressed, they were named after their wings. Her wings were almost as long as she was and they were pointy and black. She flew towards the tank and landed on the edge. She kept her distance from Steve, but greeted him not unfriendly.

 

'Okay, what happened?' asked Clint. 'What am I missing? It took more than a week to make her talk to me! What did you do?'

 

'Echolocate,' grinned the merman. 'You know, what bats and whales use so they don’t slam into anything or to find food? We learned from them, we can do it too, but we changed it, so we can communicate over long distances. It's a bit different out of the water, different vibrations, but it worked. I have a friend, a white fairy, and he told me black fairies use echolocate too. Also for talking.'

 

'He sent a message saying he wasn't a thread and that he wanted to help me get out of here,' added the fairy. 'That doesn’t mean I trust you, but we might be able to help each other to get out of here. My name is Natasha.'

 

'Steve,' introduced the merman himself. 'So, you have tried to get out of here? Found anything? The door looks heavy, so maybe there is another way?'

 

'You already figured that out? What are you? A soldier?' asked the centaur. 'Any experience?'

 

'I am a guard,' explained Steve. 'Keeping an eye on ships, making sure humans don't try to take over mermen territory, things like that. It's why we learned to talk like I did with Natasha. We often work alone, but have to contact each other in case of an emergency. I fought humans before.'

 

'How could you get caught?' asked Natasha. 'Didn't you call for help?'

 

'I wasn't on duty,' sighed the blond. 'It was mating season and I think that is something terribly old fashioned. I was swimming in the opposite direction of the others and I was too close to the surface. Never got caught by guys like these before. I always managed to escape before they got me on land. These guys were prepared. They planned this.'

 

'But they're not putting us up for display, so I wonder what motives they have to keep us locked up,' said Natasha. 'I'm a spy, I often got in contact with humans. Just because they don't know about your existence they think you contain magic. Maybe that's how they want to save the green monster.'

 

'We're a nice group,' grinned Clint. 'I was a scout, I've been protecting my people from humans for years. I told Steve yesterday, I think they try to find a way to control the monster with something from inside us. So the human can decide when the green one gets out. But we don't have time for warrior chit chat, I want to get out of here.'

 

'Okay,' said the redhead. 'I found out a few things. With those round things at the ceiling they can see what we have been doing. If we sabotage them they will know, so we need a plan that works in one night. We have no windows, so we have to go through the door and fight us a way out or dig ourselves out. Maybe we should try an explosive if we have to get things done quickly.'

 

'If you can get me out of this dammed cage we could wait for them to come in this room and overtake them,' said Clint. ‘They often come in separately and I’m sure the three of us can easily handle one of them.’

 

‘Does either of you know where we are?’ asked Steve. ‘I mean, where we end up if we leave this building? We might be in the middle of a city. I might be able to walk long enough to find water that will get me back to sea, but what about you? Clint, you might not even be able to leave the building without humans noticing you and Natasha, we don’t know how far away from your home we are. It might be way too far to fly back.’

 

‘We need to find a map of this place first,’ stated Natasha. She flew away from her place next to Steve and searched through the room. ‘Help me,’ she ordered when the merman didn’t move from his spot. Steve climbed out of the tank and searched as well. They looked through the papers that were scattered across the room, but there was no map. Nothing that could tell them where they were. There was a world map on the wall, but there were several locations pointed out, so that wasn’t of any use either. Clint tried to help them from behind the bars, but there was only so much he could do while he was locked up.

 

The merman and the fairy searched for hours. Not just for a map, but for anything that could help them, anything that could give them more information about their location, about what was going to happen to them. But most papers contained unexplainable numbers and formulas. They showed some to Clint, but he couldn’t explain them either. After hours all they found were some ingredients Natasha might be able to use to create a bomb.

 

 

~

 

 

Tony waltzed into their laboratory at eleven in the morning. He had a mug of coffee in his hand and was in a good mood, even though his research hadn’t given him any answers yet. Coffee made everything better.

 

‘Morning!’ he greeted the two scientists that were already working.

 

‘You’re late!’ said Bruce.

 

‘You’re grumpy,’ answered Tony. ‘Does that mean your DNA research didn’t get any results yet?’

 

‘I got a result and that is the problem,’ answered the bespectacled man. ‘The merman has a chromosome humans don’t have. Their ability to change from tail to legs might be in that chromosome. I could fix chromosomes, maybe even change them a little, but I can’t add a completely new chromosome to my body, so it’s useless! Days of work for nothing!’

 

‘Not nothing, Brucie,’ said Tony as he handed his colleague a cup of coffee as well. Seemed like he could use one. ‘We know more now, don’t give up yet. I’ll keep trying to get some answers out of that merman again today. And who knows, even if you were able to add that chromosome, the Hulk could have gotten a fish tail. What use would that be?’

 

‘It’s not funny.’

 

‘It is, in a few days you’ll think so too,’ grinned the billionaire before he walked over to the tank. He missed how Bruce rolled his eyes at him.

 

‘What have you been doing this morning?’ asked Peter, just to change the subject.

 

‘Called some friends to see if they could help me with translating,’ said Tony. ‘I didn’t recognize the language they were speaking, but apparently it’s not a language that is spoken anywhere in the world. At least not by humans. These things come from Germany, Russia and the Atlantic, but they can understand each other. How is that possible? Do they even know about each other’s existence?’

 

‘I doubt we’ll get answers to half of your questions,’ said Peter. ‘Unless you can make that merman fall for you.’

 

‘Why do you keep making jokes about me and the merman?’

 

‘Because you gave up on the centaur after a day and it’s been four days and you’re still trying with the merman. He is totally your type.’

 

‘You know nothing about my type, baby-face,’ laughed Tony. ‘But I do appreciate beauty and if you don’t see that our merman is fucking hot, you might need a new pair of glasses.’

 

‘Could you two just shut up?’ sighed Bruce. ‘I’m trying to work!’

 

‘Alright, sorry, sorry!’ said the billionaire quickly. He walked around the tank a few times, but the merman didn’t show himself. Tony threw in some food, but still nothing happened. He threw in some more, but the blond didn’t come to get it. So Tony walked around a few more times, tapped the glass now and then, but there was no response. He wrote something on a piece of paper and taped it to the glass. After a minute he pulled it off again. Maybe ‘we need to talk’ wasn’t the best way start a conversation with a different species. He changed it into ‘I wish we could talk.’ It felt disgustingly sweet, but maybe if he tried being kind they could actually reach something. Tony tapped the glass a few more times, but easily got bored of trying to reach the merman.

 

‘Come out, come out wherever you are,’ he mumbled. ‘I know you’ve been out of the tank again last night, so why don’t you come out now as well? You’ve been talking to that stupid centaur and even to that vicious bat! She bit me, you know! So why talk to her and not to me, damn it! Why not even show yourself? I know we caught you and we might have drugged you a little bit, but with good reasons. Very good reasons. Come one fishie, we need you!’

 

‘SHUT UP!’ shouted Bruce. ‘Shut up or get out.’

 

Tony raised an eyebrow, but left the room without saying another word. Peter bit his lip as he watched him leave. He hesitated for a minute or two, but then he spoke up.

 

‘He doesn’t mean to annoy you…’

 

‘You shut up as well or follow him!’

 

Peter made a move like he zipped his mouth shut and went back to work. Wasn’t going to piss off Doctor Banner, especially when he was already in a mood like this. He worked as quietly as he could, but when he turned around to grab his pen he accidently hit an entire rack of test tubes and they shattered to pieces on the concrete floor. Peter held his breath and slowly turned around as he heard the doctor growl loudly behind him.

 

Bruce’s skin started turning green. He was slowly growing and his clothes were shredded to pieces. Peter didn’t wait until the transformation was complete. He ran towards the big red button and slammed it before he ran out of the door.

 

The green monster went after Peter, but the intern was too quick. He smashed his fists against the Hulk-proof door. When he understood he couldn't get out he turned around and made his way to the cage of the centaur. He grabbed the bars, pushed and pulled, but there was no movement. That seemed to piss the hulk off even more and with a loud roar he turned to the tank. Behind him the door opened again and Tony stormed in. He immediately noticed that the Hulk was going for the glass, one of the only things in the room he could actually break.

 

'Oh no, no, no,' he said and cursed. 'Don't destroy the tank, Hulkie, someone lives in there. Look, there he is! A fish man. If you break the tank the fish man will die! We don't want that to happen now, do we? No, we don't. The fish man is our friend. So why don't you calm down and let Bruce come back?'

 

The monster raised his arms to smash the windows, but Tony quickly stepped in between. He believed that the Hulk wouldn't hurt him and luckily he didn't. Tony talked some more, pointed out how sad the merman looked and a few minutes later there was an unconscious and half naked Bruce on the floor. Tony turned around, hoping he could talk with the merman who had finally decided to show himself, but he was gone again. He sighed and tried waking Bruce up. Tonight, tonight he would catch the merman out of the tank.

 

 

~

 

 

Steve and Natasha tried to get Clint out of his cage that night. They had both seen that the green monster couldn't destroy the bars, so they tried picking the lock. They were working for almost an hour when Steve shushed both of them.

 

'Someone's coming!' he whispered and within seconds he and the black fairy were back where they belonged.

 

 

~

 

 

Tony was getting cranky. Several nights he had tried to catch the merman and the fairy, but every night they had disappeared by the time he opened the door. He could only see the bubbles in the water where the merman had jumped in.

 

On the video footage he could see how the merman warned them whenever he heard something and they would quickly flee. So Tony tried translating what they were saying for hours in the lab until he fell asleep.

 

Bruce found him often in the morning, telling him to go to bed and Tony hated seeing the disappointed look on his face. It made him try to stay up even longer, only making Bruce more worried.

 

So when after two weeks of disappointment and no results he walked into an empty room again he let out a frustrated cry. He opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of scotch. If he was going to disappoint people he would give them a good reason to do so. He didn't even bother grabbing a glass, he drank straight from the bottle.

 

In no time he downed half of the bottle and he was shouting at the centaur. When he heard something moving in the water he turned to the tank.

 

'Yeah, hide, whatever!' he slurred. 'Not going to fucking let you go if you keep hiding, stupid fish! Can you hear me? Not letting you go!'

 

He climbed one of the ladders and stepped on the little platform. From there he could see almost the entire tank, so he could see where the merman was hiding. When he saw a glimpse of blue he grinned.

 

'Found you! Haha, I fucking found you!' he laughed and pointed at the creature in the water. ‘No more need to hide, so man up and talk to me! Is a guy with such a big dick not man enough to face me?’

 

He stepped forward to shout something at the merman, but the platform was wet and his foot slipped. He tried steadying himself and accidentally dropped his bottle in the process. It shattered to pieces a few meters lower on the concrete floor. Tony cursed, tried to turn around, but slipped for real this time. He hit his head against the platform and fell in the water where he unconsciously sank to the bottom.

 

 

~

 

 

Steve had seen many drunk people in his life. It were mostly lost sailors he had met. It wasn't so bad, drunk people didn't remember, or at least no one would believe them if they talked about mermen. But he also knew they could be dangerous. They were reckless. Fights with drunk people never ended well.

 

So when Tony got drunk Steve hid himself further in his corner than he normally did. He tried to block out all the things the man was shouting at him. But when he heard the shattering of glass and the sound of a body hitting the water he reached the man in a second. Humans didn't last long in water. He quickly wrapped his arms around Tony's waist and swam to the surface. Carefully he put the engineer down on the platform, climbed out, swung him over his shoulder and climbed down the ladder. He lay Tony on the couch, not even noticing he was walking through glass. Tony’s heart was beating, he was breathing, but there was a big bump on his head. Maybe he swallowed too much water? Steve didn't know anything about healing, let alone healing humans. He looked around for something, anything and then he noticed the red button.

 

Whenever there was a problem and someone needed help they pushed that button. Maybe someone would come! He ran to the button, hit it harder than necessary and ran back to the man on the couch. He was still breathing.

 

It seemed like hours when the door finally opened and Bruce came running in, followed by a few people Steve didn't know. He went back to the tank and disappeared in the water.

 

 

~

 

 

Bruce kneeled down next to the couch. There was relief on his face when he felt a pulse. There was blood on the floor, so he checked for wounds, but couldn't find any. He looked at the blood again and noticed the footsteps that went from the tank to the couch to the button back to the couch and back to the tank.  Tony wasn't dead. He wasn't even wounded. It was the merman that was hurt. The merman that was watching them through the glass windows of the tank.

 

He stepped towards the tank slowly, but the merman didn't move away. The blond was watching him with big eyes. Bruce knew he was scared and worried.

 

'Did he fall in the water?' Bruce asked, making sure not to put the blame on anyone.

 

The merman nodded.

 

'He will be alright. You hurt yourself when you helped him. Are you alright? I'm a doctor, I can help. Do you need help?'

 

The merman shook his head and pointed to the couch.

 

'Bruce, hurry up!' said a lady behind him impatiently.

 

'Coming!' said the doctor. 'If you need help any other time, just ask, okay?' He turned back to the others in the room. 'Alright, Jarvis, can you help me to carry him? We have to get him dry and warm!'

 

 

~

 

 

Steve looked at the cut in his tail. It stopped bleeding and was almost healed already. It still fascinated him that if he hurt his legs his tail would be damaged and the other way around.

He was swimming close to the surface, because the blood had made the water dirty. He had turned the filters on full speed, but it would still take a few hours until it would be clean again. He was getting spoiled. The water of the sea was hardly ever this clean.

 

'Are you alright?' asked Natasha. She was standing on the little platform and eyed the bloody footprints.

 

'Yeah, I'm fine,' smiled Steve. 'Mermen heal quicker than most others. I don't really feel pain anymore.'

 

'But now I do understand why you think mating season is old fashioned!' laughed Clint. ‘All guys look forward to mating season! Damn, I was pissed when I heard we centaurs used to have it. Every year you get a go with a pretty lady! But you don’t care about it, because you want to get a go with a hot guy!’

 

‘Mating season is not about getting it on with a pretty dame,’ said Steve, ignoring all the other things the centaur said. ‘It’s about finding the right partner and about reproducing.’

 

‘Whatever!’ grinned Clint. ‘I’d take a few years finding the right partner and practice some reproducing! And I’m sure half of the mermen pick a nice mermaid, so they have someone to go to whenever they feel like it.’

 

‘You could have killed him,’ stated Natasha ignoring Clint completely.

 

‘What?!’

 

‘You could have let him drown, nobody would have blamed you.’

 

‘I’m not letting people drown if I can do something about it!’ said Steve a bit angry. ‘I wouldn’t do that, I couldn’t do that. They might have killed me if I let that happen and to be honest, I don’t really like dead bodies in my water.’

 

‘You like Tony?’ the redhead asked.

 

‘I don’t have Stockholm Syndrome, thank you very much!’ sputtered Steve. ‘Yes I like guys, but it doesn’t matter, mating season is still old fashioned and we’re still locked up in here with no plan of getting out.’

 

‘I suggest we make that bomb,’ proposed Clint.

  
Natasha smirked.

 

 

~

 

 

It was two days later when Tony walked into the lab again. He had a concussion and Bruce told him not to walk around yet, but he was bored. He couldn't sit and do nothing for such a long time!

 

First thing he did was check the tank, but the merman was once again hidden. Tony had seen on the security cams how the blond creature helped him. There were still stains on the floor from the blood. Peter had tried to clean them, but by then it had already dried up and it was impossible to remove them completely. They made Tony feel guilty and he hated feeling guilty.

 

He didn't really know how to make up for it though. Normally when he felt guilty he'd throw in some money. New shoes for Pepper, newest gadgets for Rhodey, new tires for Happy's car. But the only thing he could give the merman is his freedom and he just couldn't do that yet.

 

Tony put his hand on the glass and wished these creatures would just talk to him already. If they couldn't help he would bring them back from where they came from. They could've been back already if they would just talk! He knocked softly on the glass, but as always there was no response.

 

'I don't know if you can hear me or if you understand me, but I know I've been an idiot. I'm sorry about that. Thank you for saving me.'

 

He turned around, took a deep breath and walked away. It was easier to say such things knowing nobody heard it. Less embarrassing. Still a bit of guilt thought.

 

'You're welcome.'

 

Tony halted. It couldn't be! He slowly turned around and there was the merman, leaning over the edge like he did when talking to the centaur and fairy. For a moment Tony's mouth didn't work. He had forgotten how beautiful this creature was.

 

'You speak English!' was the first thing he said and he felt like slapping himself. The merman looked confused, so Tony quickly spoke again. 'When you talked with the others you spoke a language I didn't understand, so I assumed you didn't speak English, but I'm really glad you do. I wanted to talk to you ever since we brought you here and I shouldn't talk about that, but damn, I'll blame the concussion.'

 

Great, he blew he. He knew he blew it, but the blond smiled at him.

 

'I don't know about languages, but I never met anyone I couldn't talk to. Maybe it's a merman thing?'

 

'You speak all the languages in the world?' Tony asked. 'We should test that, that's amazing! I could let you hear different languages and we could see if you understand what's being said. You could...'

 

Suddenly something clicked in Tony's brain. He needed answers for Bruce and then he'd had to let the merman go again. He kidnapped him, for God's sake and now he was talking about experimenting!

 

'My name is Steve,' said the merman, interrupting his thoughts.

 

'I'm Tony. Tony Stark. Sorry for kidnapping you.'

 

Steve laughed. 'That doesn't make this any better, but it's for your friend Bruce, isn't it? I don't know if I can help, but the chances of that happening depend on the chances of you letting us go.'

 

'Fair,' grinned Tony. 'We were planning to let you go after we had answers. So maybe we can have a little chat and we can take you back tomorrow already.'

 

'Give Clint his bow back and I'll come out of the tank.'

 

'Who the hell is Clint?' asked Tony surprised. 'No wait, you mean the centaur, right? He tried to shoot me! The damn bat fairy bit me and he tried to shoot me!’

 

‘He only needs his bow. It’s very important to him,’ assured Steve and the moment Tony put the weapon through the bars of Clint’s cage he climbed out of the tank. His scales fell off and disappeared and legs took the place of his tail. Tony threw a towel at him and told him to dry himself off. Steve did and when he was done the engineer handed him a lab coat.

 

‘Wear that. I can’t talk to you when you’re naked. Too distracting.’

 

Steve carefully put on the coat, stroked the material and tried to look at himself wearing it. It barely covered his private parts, but he seemed to be very happy with it. Tony was watching the man with interest. He realized it was probably the first time Steve wore clothes, so he let him get used to it. It was interesting to see. The man would be a great test subject for so many things. But Bruce came first.

 

'Okay, stop admiring yourself, if you want to wear something I can get you proper clothes,' said Tony. He pulled out two chairs and sat down on one of them. Steve sat down on the other one and made sure he was decent.

 

Tony told about Bruce's condition. He explained how the man got in contact with gamma radiation. Steve didn't understand much of it, so the engineer told him that much radiation would kill a man. Bruce had been lucky. He also explained all the things they had tried to cure him.

 

Steve told Tony about mermen and everything he knew about changing from tail to legs. He didn't know much about it, but he knew they were able to change because of reproduction.

 

'We reproduce like humans do, so we need legs and genitals for that. Also to give birth. We're born with a tail though. Our mothers take us to the sea immediately, we're able to swim from day one. Only a few years later parents take their children to the beach and they change from tail to legs for the first time. It's not something we have to do, it's something that just happens, so I doubt I can help your friend. Neither will Clint and Natasha be able to help you.'

 

'Well damn,' sighed Tony. 'You were our only hope at the moment. We'll bring you all back home as soon as Bruce will allow me to go outside. He will have to get used to getting green when he loses his temper.'

 

'I think working with you made him a very patient man. You test his limits,' grinned Steve. Tony wanted to protest, but the blond continued. 'We could always ask the unicorns about it. They don't like visitors much, but I've talked to a few of them before.'

 

'No way, there are no unicorns! I know about all creatures like you! Fuck I wanna see a unicorn!' rambled Tony.

 

Steve looked at the world map on the wall. He frowned, walked a little closer and pointed at Australia. 'Our maps are a little different, but I think they live here. If you can arrange a boat we could go there. I could ask them about Bruce's problem.'

 

'I have a plane, no need for a boat!' said the engineer excited. He got up as well and pointed at Malibu. 'We're here, but we can be in Australia in a day. Or we take a detour, drop the fairy in Russia, the centaur in Germany and it will be just you and me all the way to the other side of the world.' He wiggled his eyebrows, but Steve didn't seem to get the hint.

 

'A plane? Is that one of those flying machines?'

 

'Yes.'

 

Steve eyes lit up. 'I always wanted to fly! Can we really?'

 

'Of course!' grinned Tony.

 

At that moment the door opened and Bruce walked in. He wanted to say something, hesitated when he saw Steve, but then spoke anyway.

 

'You should be in bed.'

 

'No time Brucie, no time, we're going to Australia!'

 

 

~

 

 

It took the men a few days too pack. They needed a lot of equipment, laptops, food and clothes for at least a month. During that time Clint was freed from his cage and they were allowed to walk around the house. They stayed mostly in the basement though, it just felt safer down there. They weren’t used to being around humans.

 

Clint was excited he was finally going home again, Natasha was just glad she wasn’t locked up anymore. They spend a lot of time talking about their species and their way of living.

 

Steve joined them now and them, but also spend some time on his own, doubting if he was doing the right thing. He didn’t hate his captors, although he knew he should. He had always been interested in humans and now that he had the chance to become friends with them and learn about them, he doubted if he should.

 

He liked them all, but he liked Tony the most. The man was enthusiastic, energetic and good looking, it was impossible not to like him. The dark-haired man was always smiling when he entered the basement and he always brought food. He even brought clothes.

 

Steve knew he shouldn’t like someone who kidnapped him, but he did.

 

 

~

 

 

Steve took a deep breath. Human cities smelled terrible, but he didn't care, he was just very glad to be outside again. Tony had gotten him some clothes and even though he preferred his tail, he changed to legs so he could see what humans really lived like.

 

There was a car waiting for them. Steve had seen cars before, but he didn't like them much. It looked so cramped and suffocating. He watched how Clint got in the back of the van. Natasha sat on his shoulder. Bruce and Peter put some suitcases in there as well before they closed the doors and sat down on the front seats.

 

Steve frowned. There was no space for him and Tony. He turned around to ask the man about it, but he wasn't there. The big door behind him slowly opened though. The blond watched until it was open completely and a car came through. The car had no roof and Tony was driving it with a big grin on his face.

 

'Hop in!'

 

Steve did and Tony drove off, easily passing the heavy van and honking as he did so. The wind was blowing through their hair and the upcoming sun was shining a weak light on their faces. Steve loved it. This wasn’t cramped or suffocating at all. He wished the road was longer. They arrived at the airport way too fast, but he was also looking forward to flying. Standing next to the plane already felt overwhelming, he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like inside.

 

When the guys in the van finally arrived they parked it as closely to the plane as possible. They opened the back doors and Clint hurried into the plane. Nobody had seen him and Natasha, that was the most important. Steve impatiently followed the three scientists up the stairs. He was surprised to see the inside of the plane looked like a cosy living room and he happily sat down in one of the comfy chairs. Clint came in from the other side and found himself a comfortable spot. They all buckled up and moments later they were departing.

 

Steve looked through the little windows. He watched as they flew higher and higher up in the air and he was amazed. This was better than he had imagined. It felt so different from swimming, walking or even driving in the car. This was fantastic. He wished he could touch the clouds. They looked so soft and fluffy.

 

‘Like it?’ asked Tony.

 

‘Yes,’ whispered Steve.

 

‘Most first times aren’t this amazing,’ joked the billionaire, but the merman was so caught up in this new things that he didn’t hear him anymore. He didn’t notice Tony leaving for his own chair again and he didn’t see how the others were walking around the plane already, doing whatever they felt like doing. Soon Bruce and Peter were having a rousing discussion about biochemistry while Tony and Clint were arguing about the time the centaur would get his arrows back. Natasha took that moment to talk to Steve. The blond only noticed her when she landed on his shoulder.

 

‘Be careful Steve,’ she told him. ‘When Clint and I are gone you’ll be on your own. You can’t trust humans. They might act kind now, but you don’t know what they’ll do when you’re on your own. Especially Stark. He acts like he likes you, but he is a man who gets what he wants, no matter what it is, no matter what it will cost. They can overpower you.’

 

‘I’ll be on guard,’ answered Steve. ‘I know what humans are capable off and I’ve seen too many of my kind die by their hands. I’ll try to stay close to water as much as possible. I have the advantage there. I’m not going to let them get close to the unicorns without speaking to them myself first. I have to help protect the few that are left. I’ve been a guard most of my life, Nat. I can do this.’

 

‘Just keep your eyes open. There is a hunger in Stark’s eyes whenever he looks at you and I don’t like it. Don’t let him touch you. He is an engineer, a mechanic, but he is working on this project that is mainly biology. I still don’t understand why. He is suspicious.’

 

‘Thank you for worrying about me, but I’ll be fine.’

 

Natasha wanted to speak again, but Clint shouted at them and told them to stop talking in Russian. Steve frowned at him.

 

‘Was I speaking another language again?’ he asked. ‘It all sounds the same to me.’

 

‘Yup, I didn’t understand a word you were saying,’ said the centaur. ‘So I hope you  were talking about me.’

 

‘You’re so amazing, how could we not?’ smiled Steve innocently.

 

‘You better not be lying to me!’

 

The blond wanted to answer, but a sudden pain stopped him. It felt like his skin was on fire. His legs were burning and breathing became hard. The uncomfortable hot feeling spread and soon it felt like his whole body was on fire. Natasha flew off his shoulder and Bruce quickly jumped from his cheer and kneeled down next to Steve.

 

‘He needs water,’ said the doctor and he grabbed a bottle. ‘Here, drink this. It might make you feel a little better. Tony, did we bring that bath tub? Because now might be a good time to fill it with water. Peter, give me a few more bottles, we’ll need more before that tub is full.’

 

‘Yup, brought it,’ said the dark-haired man and he was up to tell the stewards to fill it up.

 

‘On it!’ answered the intern at almost the same time.

 

Steve never drank anything in his life before, never had to. It felt weird, but the burning got less and breathing became a little bit easier again. His gills had been open too far, but they were slowly closing again. Peter came in with another three bottles and Steve downed them as quickly as possible.

 

‘Tub is about half filled,’ said Tony. ‘With mineral water though, hope that’s no problem.’

 

He didn’t get an answer, Steve was already out of the room. He stripped out of his clothes on the way and the moment he reached the tub he jumped in. He was completely naked, but within seconds his legs were covered in scales and his tail appeared again. He felt better instantly. He lay down under water completely and let his gills do their job. He didn’t even notice that the guys were emptying more bottles in there until the burning feeling was gone completely. He wasn’t used to be out of the water for this long.

 

When he felt better he sat up. The others were all standing around him with worried looks on their faces. It made Steve feel extremely uncomfortable.

 

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘It’s happened before. Just not this bad and not this sudden. I need to practice being outside of the water. It will take some time, but I’ll get used to it. I’ll just soak for an hour or so and then I’ll come back.’

 

‘Sir, dinner is ready to be served,’ said one of the stewards. ‘If you’re ready.’

 

‘Yeah, food!’ said Tony. ‘Stevie here could use some food!’

 

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Peter butted in. ‘Knowing you we’re gonna have some top class food and he isn’t used to that. His bowels aren’t used to it. If he eats normal food now he is going to be in pain for days. We need something easy to digest. I think we even brought the fish flakes.’

 

‘If he is going to travel with us he has to look human! We can’t feed him fucking fish flakes in front of others!’ groaned Tony. ‘Bruce, help!’

 

‘Steve, do you want this?’ asked Bruce. ‘If you really want we can just drop you in the Atlantic. I wouldn’t mind. You don’t have to do this for me.’

 

‘You already helped yourself a lot by working with these two,’ grinned Steve. ‘You must be the most patient man on the planet. But I would really like to see more of the world and if you guys are willing to give me that opportunity then I’d want to try and eat food like you. Even if it’s going to hurt.’

 

‘Alright,’ said the doctor. ‘Then we should start with fruits, like pears or kiwi’s if we have any. Some bouillon would be good too. If he can handle that we can move on to dry biscuits, pudding and vegetables like spinach or peas. Fish would be good, but I guess that is out of the question. Chicken, eggs and bread come next, pasta, potatoes and by then he will probably be able to eat most things that aren’t too spicy.’

 

‘Get him some fruits,’ ordered Tony. ‘Some bouillon and some fish flakes, just in case.’

 

The stewards peeled some fruits for Steve and he ate them happily. He loved all the new tastes and looked forward to whatever else he could try later. He was feeling a lot better. The rest of their flight wasn’t as smooth though. Peter started throwing up after some turbulence, Bruce almost hulked out after what was later referred to as ‘The fifth great argument between Clint and Tony’, Natasha managed to get herself a weapon with which she stabbed Tony every time he tried to get too close to a sleeping Steve. When Steve did wake up though it was because of a weird feeling in his abdomen and Bruce had to teach him how to use a toilet.

 

They were all very glad to finally arrive in Russia, especially the staff. The six of them were forced to travel further in a twenty year old van though and that wasn't much fun either. Bruce and Steve sat in front, so Bruce wouldn't hulk out and so Steve could focus on breathing air.  Natasha sat on his shoulder and watched the scene behind them. There wasn't really a backseat, because they couldn't fit Clint in the trunk if they did have a backseat. So Tony and Peter were forced to sit on the floor and complained the entire way about Clint, because the horse part of him was taking too much space.

 

When they finally left the small villages behind them and ended up in the middle of nowhere they could get out of the car. Clint and Steve brought Natasha back to her home and said their goodbyes. The fairy gave Steve one last warning about the humans before she disappeared  into the dark forest.

 

The centaur and the merman quickly returned to the van. They drove back to the airport and took a flight to Germany. The very same thing happened there. Steve was allowed to say goodbye to the centaur in private, even managed to say hi to some of his friends before Clint warned him about the humans.

 

Alone Steve returned to the van. He felt a bit sad, since he'd probably never see either of them again, but the happy smile on Tony's face when he returned made up for a lot of the emptiness.

 

 

~

 

 

'I'm not sleeping another night on a plane!' complained Tony. 'We're on our way to the other side of the planet, I want a decent bed for one night before we leave.'

 

'You do know your plane has better beds than any other plane in the world, right?' asked Peter.

 

'Normally you sleep most nights on a chair in the workshop,' reminded Bruce. 'You never seem to have a problem with that.'

 

'I've never slept in a bed,' Steve thought out loud.

 

'It's decided, we sleep in a hotel! Pull over at that sign!' the billionaire ordered. It was almost two in the morning, but it looked like this hotel was still open. He dragged them all out of the car and pushed them through the doors.

 

'Looks good,' Tony decided. 'Let's test your language skills, Steve. Go ask the nice lady behind the desk for four beds.' He pushed the blond towards the desk.

 

'How can I help?' asked the girl in German.

 

'Do you have four beds?' Steve asked, hoping he said the right words in the right language. But the girl said she would check, so he assumed he did okay.

 

'I'm sorry,' she said after a minute. 'I only have one room with two single beds. Other than that we only have the honeymoon suite available.'

 

Steve frowned. He didn't know a thing about beds. He turned to Tony and repeated what the girl had said. He wasn't completely sure he was speaking Tony's language again, but when a big grin appeared on his face Steve knew he understood. He still didn't understand what was funny though.

 

'No problem!' laughed the billionaire. 'You and I can share the honeymoon suite. Probably has a big tub too!' He wrapped an arm around Steve and smiled charmingly at the girl. 'Do you speak English? We'll take the room and the suite on one condition: the suite must have a very big bath.' He looked at Steve before he winked at the lady.

 

She blushed lightly and quickly went back to her computer. She booked the rooms for them, took the offered credit card and handed it back a minute later with the keys.

 

 'It has a two person tub. It's on the third floor, the other room is on the second floor. Enjoy your stay.'

 

'Oh, we will!' answered Tony as he pulled Steve to the elevator, not letting go until the doors were closed.

 

Bruce took the key to the normal room and sighed. 'Tony, don't do anything stupid. Steve, don't let him do anything to you that you don't want.' He and Peter stepped out of the elevator at the second floor, leaving Steve with Tony.

 

'Why does everyone warn me about you?' asked the blond. 'Not just Bruce, Natasha and Clint did so before as well. Do they really think I can't defend myself?'

 

Tony stepped out of the elevator and opened the door to their room. 'It's not that they don't trust you, they don't trust me. It's a sex thing. Mermen have sex, right? Well, I had a lot of sex with a lot of different people, but I especially like pretty blondes. Which puts you in the danger zone.'

 

Steve entered the suite and immediately walked into the bathroom, filling the tub with water.

 

'There are a few things I don't understand,' he said, sitting down on the edge of the tub. Tony dropped their bag and followed him, leaning against the door frame.

 

'The dame living in your house is not your wife?'

 

'Nope, she rules my company. I own it, she runs it. We had a relationship, but that didn't work out. Next question.'

 

'Why do they warn me? I'm a man. Don't humans make a difference?'

 

'Some do, some don't. I like both men and women. Some only like women, some only like men. Some women only like women, some like both as well. Don't mermen have something like homosexuality?'

 

'It's not something we really talk about. I joined a few mating seasons, I kissed a few girls, but it just wasn't....I didn't really feel anything. Nobody really understood, so I decided not to go anymore. Only reason you guys caught me. I swam close to the surface so I wouldn't meet anyone that would try to drag me to the meeting place.'

 

'Ever felt anything for a guy?' Tony asked.

 

'I think so,' answered Steve. The tub  was slowly filling up and he impatiently checked the temperature. 'So, am I considered pretty among humans?'

 

'Hell yes! You are very handsome. I hope that's not something you worry about, because you look way better than the average human.'

 

'So...' Steve checked the temperature again before he started undressing and hopped in the tub. 'So I'm blond and good looking and I might be the type you want to have sex with, I might like guys better than girls and you might be one of the guys I like, and sex between two guys is no problem, why do they warn me? If we'd both want it there is nothing wrong, is there? I don't understand.'

 

'Because they think you are way more innocent than you actually are and they think I might take advantage of you. Do something to you that you don't want.'

 

'I can still defend myself,' answered Steve. 'Even outside of the water.'

 

'I believe you, I can't match those muscles of yours! So I'll ask you nicely: do you want to have sex with me?'

 

'No.'

 

'Okay, can I get in the bath with you then? I could take a shower, but it's less fun.'

 

'Fine, get in,' smiled Steve.

 

Tony stripped out of his clothes. 'You know I'm not growing a tail once I hit the water, right? I'm going to be completely naked.'

 

'Yes, you're human, I know,' answered Steve. 'Don't worry, I can't turn you into a merman. I'm not a vampire.'

 

'Lots of humans are embarrassed when naked or having others naked around them,' explained Tony as he dropped his boxers. He grinned when he noticed Steve having a quick look. But he was getting cold, so he stepped in the warm water and settled down next to the blond. 'Glad you don't care about that. Now tell me, vampires? Are they real? Do they suck blood from the necks of us poor humans?'

 

'They do,' answered Steve. 'Not just humans, sometimes mermen too. They can't change us though, while humans can actually turn into vampire-like things. They're not immortal and they can still eat normal food. For some mermen it's...how do you call that...a kink?'

 

'Is it your kink?' the billionaire asked as he made himself comfortable in the heart-shaped bath.

 

'Never tried and I don't feel like trying.'

 

'Maybe you can actually do it too, you know, bite a human and make them a mermen,' joked Tony. 'Wanna try?'

 

'I don't really have the teeth to draw blood, so I hope it’s not your kink,' said the blond softly before gently biting down the place between Tony’s neck and shoulder. He only scraped his teeth over the olive skin, not even trying to hurt the other man.

 

‘It wasn’t my kink, but it might be now,’ moaned Tony.

 

'Are you a merman now?' asked Steve with a grin.

 

'Nope, nothing blue down there, still boring old legs. Maybe you should try again?'

 

'You're not ever going to get a blue tail,' said Steve between a few more nibs on Tony's neck. 'With a skin like yours you'd get a dark red tail. Like the scales of a dragon. Now I wish I could see that, I'm sure you'd look very good as a merman.'

 

'I definitely would, but I still wouldn't look as good as you,' said Tony smoothly. 'Can I kiss you?'

 

'No,' said Steve too quickly and he moved away from the billionaire.

 

'You've been sucking my neck for the last few minutes. Why is that any different from a kiss?' said Tony a bit frustrated. 'Is that some stupid mermen tradition or something? I thought we had something going on here, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll go to bed.'

 

'No wait!' said the merman and he grabbed Tony's arm. He was strong, so he could easily prevent the smaller man from getting out of the bath. 'I do like you and I kind of want to kiss you, but I ‘ve never done it. I never kissed anyone outside of the water. I...don't know how to breathe.'

 

Tony stopped struggling and blinked a few times. That was not what he had expected. 'Okay, I don't know either. Want to give it a try?'

 

When Steve nodded Tony turned on his stomach and lay down half on top of the blond. The fish tail against his leg felt weird, but he ignored it and focused on those very kissable lips. He gave in and kissed Steve. Their kisses were short at first, but lasted longer and became more intense as Steve tried to figure out how to get enough oxygen. Whenever he needed air he broke their kiss and attacked Tony's neck.

 

The engineer moved his calloused hands all over Steve's body as he encouraged him to suck his skin. He pulled the blond man into another kiss and this time he used his tongue. He could hear Steve breathing loudly through his nose, trying to find a rhythm between kissing and breathing. He quickly figured it out and they kissed for minutes. when they parted Tony was out of breath as well.

 

'I should go to bed,' said the billionaire. 'For many different reasons.'

 

'I hope one of them is because you're aroused,' grinned Steve.

 

'Someone with such an innocent face should not be allowed to say such things!' moaned Tony. 'But yes, that is the main reason. Other reason is that Bruce will kill me if we're late and tired tomorrow.'

 

'I'll sleep in the bath,' said the merman. 'You might be too distracted to sleep if I try the bed.'

 

Tony kissed him one last time. 'You're always welcome to join me if you change your mind.'

 

 

~

 

 

Bruce and Peter were almost done with their breakfast when the two others finally made their way into the hotel's dining room. Bruce sighed and Peter rolled his eyes.

 

'Are they seriously giggling together?' the intern asked.

 

'They could have been ignoring each other,' answered the doctor. 'Not sure what would have been worse. At least they're happy and a happy Tony agrees easily with whatever you ask him, so take advantage of that.'

 

Tony and Steve took some food from the buffet. The dark-haired man was putting things on Steve's plate that he could eat, grabbed a few mugs of coffee and they made their way to the others.

 

'Good morning' greeted Steve. Tony was too busy finishing his first mug.

 

'Good morning newlyweds,' said Peter sarcastically.

 

'Why are you so late?' asked Bruce a bit annoyed.

 

'Tony taught me how to kiss outside of water last night,' answered Steve with a grin before taking a bite from the fruits on his plate. 'He went to bed a bit late, so he was impossible to wake up this morning. He tried to pull me in bed with him, so I had to drag him out. I'm sorry we made you wait.'

 

'I was kidding when I said newlyweds, but apparently you two took it seriously,' groaned Peter.

 

'I know you're still very young , dear Peter,' said Tony as he took a small break from his coffee. 'But kissing isn't normally what newlyweds do. Well, not the only thing they do, but I can't tell you about that until you're older.'

 

'Oh my God,' sighed Peter. 'What did I do to deserve this?'

 

'You volunteered,'  Bruce reminded him before he dragged all of them to the car.

 

 

~

 

 

Once back in the plane the three scientists started working again. They knew the creatures that they had caught until now couldn’t help Bruce, but they had other ideas and they would find a way. Steve had gotten a few books and the stewards explained to him how the television worked. The merman chose to read the books. He had seen television before, but he didn't like it much. Books had better stories. He read several pages, but he was often distracted by the three others in the room. He peeked over his book and listened to them now and then. He didn't understand much of what they were talking about though.

 

He couldn't help it, but he just couldn't keep his eyes off Tony. The man was attractive, that was for sure, but after that kissing session last night Steve wanted more. This morning he had used his new found kissing skills to get the man out of bed. Tony hadn't said anything about it and neither did he initiate any kisses. Steve knew he had been warned, but he surely hoped it wasn't a one-time horny thing. He wouldn't mind a little more. Maybe even a lot more? Even if it was just once.

 

Steve felt a little hot and that had nothing to do with a lack of water. He had been sipping bottles ever since he got out of the bath this morning. The pants felt a bit tight. Being human was very uncomfortable at times. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on his book again. Of course he couldn't. He put the book away, pushed his chair backwards and tried to get some sleep.

 

He woke up a few hours later, because of a less pleasant burning feeling. The others were still discussing things at the table that was stacked with papers now. Steve had been out of water for quite some time, so he got up and walked into the next room. There were only curtains between the different areas of the plane, but he had enough privacy. He undressed, put his clothes aside and lay down in the water.

 

For a few moments Steve wondered why he was even trying. He wasn't a human and he would never be one. This bullshit about finding out what it's like to be a human was just a poor excuse so he didn't have to tell his friends why he didn't join mating season again. He felt like an idiot, he couldn't escape his fate, so he almost decided he would go back home as soon as he could get into the sea again. Almost, because at that moment the curtains were pushed aside and Tony walked in.

 

'Are you alright?' he asked. 'I've timed how long you last without getting in the tub and you last longer every time.'

 

'Really?' asked the merman. 'Doesn't feel like it.'

 

'Yes you do! I could show you the numbers!' grinned Tony. 'And I think you deserve a reward.'

 

'What kind of reward did you have in mind?'

 

'Something that involves lips, but doesn't get me wet.'

 

Steve raised an eyebrow, acting confused. 'So you don’t  want me to pull you in the water or you don't you want me to kiss so good that it makes you cum in your pants?'

 

'You and your damned innocent face!' moaned Tony. 'How do you even know things like that?'

 

'Humans aren't the only ones who have things like that,' laughed Steve. 'You might not see it on mermen, but the moment we change to legs it's very obvious. Genitals don’t disappear. They are just hidden. When it happens we have to get out of the water, change to legs and clean ourselves, so most teenage boys stay close to the coast. Apparently it even happens to the majestic unicorns, but thankfully I never had to witness that.'

 

'No fun to be a teenage mermen then. Did you go to the beach to help yourself?' asked Tony with a smirk.

 

Steve didn't answer. He grabbed Tony's collar and kissed him. He didn't hesitate for a moment; when the dark-haired man gasped he pushed his tongue inside and deepened the kiss.

 

Tony's shirt was soaked by the time they parted and Steve's thoughts about running away had drowned.

 

 

~

 

 

The group ended up at a small lake in Australia, only a few miles from the coast. It was deserted, since it was insanely hot and there were numerous unidentified animals and bugs that could probably kill you. It was a good thing Tony had created a foldable cabin where nothing could get in or out without using the door, which had a few locks. It was barely big enough for three men to sleep in though. The air matrasses and sleeping bags were incredibly uncomfortable and there was no room for chairs or a desk, so they had to do their work on the floor or in their van. The cabin did have solar panels though that powered their laptops and the air conditioning.

 

Tony was the one that complained the most. The billionaire was used to having his own space, he was used to have a lot of electronics around him and he was used to soft beds, even though he slept on work benches most of the time. They had done things like this before. They had been on a small boat for days in the middle of the ocean to catch a merman. It had taken them more than a month, hiding in bushes to catch a Black Fairy and they had been sitting in trees for days before they saw their first centaur. Tony always complained, but this time it was way worse.

 

His complaining drove Bruce crazy. Peter tried to distract the both of them, but when no unicorn had shown up after a week he didn’t know what to do anymore either. He let the two of them argue and within minutes they were shouting at each other. It was good to let off some steam, but when Bruce started turning green Peter pushed him outside. If he hulked out in their tiny cabin it would be destroyed and they’d had nothing left.

 

That made Bruce lose control completely. His body changed and the green monster destroyed the woods surrounding the lake for over ten minutes before he noticed the cabin again. He went for it, not seeing anything else anymore. Peter and Tony were still inside and they saw him coming, but there was no escape.

 

‘Oi, monster!’ said a voice coming from the lake. Since the cabin was too small for all of them Steve had spent his time under water. He was lying half on the shore, flapping his tail in the water to get the Hulk’s attention. His scales were glistering in the sun and Steve tried to make the reflection hit the monster. He had to keep his attention. Not only was his tail a glistering object, it was also his only escape. He couldn’t outrun the Hulk.

 

‘Don’t go destroying that little house,’ continued Steve. ‘It’s all you guys have here. You live there too, you know. You will have to live there until we find a unicorn and we still haven’t seen one yet. So why don’t you come over here and calm down a little? Maybe we can have some fun?’

 

Steve playfully rolled around in the sand, splashing up some water at the same time. The Hulk came running to him and tried to grab him. For a moment the merman was afraid the monster wanted to hurt him, but when he rolled out of the grabby hands just in time the Hulk made a happy sound. It was almost like he was laughing. So Steve continued the game and made sure every time those big hands came close he got out of their way. After three minutes he was dead tired. The Hulk was huge, but he was fast.

 

He dove under water to catch his breath, but very soon he heard an angry growl. The Hulk didn’t like that his entertainment had left, so Steve came up and did a flip above the water only to disappear again. Somewhere else he came up, jumped like a dolphin before swimming under water and doing it again somewhere else. The monster seemed to enjoy watching the little show and a few minutes later he had disappeared and an unconscious Bruce lay in the sand.

 

Tony came running from the cabin, Peter on his heels. The engineer kneeled down on the shore and called Steve’s name while the intern checked how Bruce was doing. Within seconds the merman lay next to them on the shore with a broad smile.

 

‘I calmed him down.’

 

‘Are you hurt?’ Tony asked and sighed relieved when Steve shook his head. ‘The Hulk might have just been playing a game, but I’ve been hit by one of those fists before and I can tell you, you’ll feel that for a fucking month.’

 

‘Would have been fair, it was your fault he crossed the line today!’ said Peter angry. ‘You could have had us both killed.’

 

‘Could you stop shouting?’ asked Bruce who was waking up again. ‘And don’t roll your eyes, Tony, it was your fault. We have the responsibility to keep Peter safe. Steve, please come over to the cabin to distract him once a day or something, because he turns into an annoying spoiled brat when you’re not around.’

 

Tony opened his mouth to protest, but Steve quickly covered it with his hand, preventing him from saying anything stupid.

 

‘I will,’ answered the merman. ‘And if it gets really unbearable just kick him out and let him come to me. Although I’m afraid you will have to put the cabin somewhere further away in the woods. If there were any unicorns around, they are not anymore now. Not now that you destroyed about a square mile of this place.’

 

‘I’ve done worse,’ laughed Bruce, though the sound was slightly off. ‘Worse in places with people around. Last time I was in New York I kinda broke Harlem.’

 

Steve didn’t know what Harlem was, but he had seen New York and he could only imagine what the Hulk could have done there. He laughed along with the scientists though, because apparently nobody got hurt. ‘You still have to move though, or we’ll never be able to talk to a unicorn.’

 

At that moment Tony licked Steve’s hand and Steve quickly pulled it away.

 

‘If we move into the woods the solar panels won’t get enough light to power our computers and the air conditioning,’ said the dark-haired man. ‘We will have to use the extra generator that’s in the back of the van, but it has only have enough power for three more days. We can’t stay any longer than that, because then our mini fridge will die down and we will not have any food left. Worse, the coffee machine won’t work and we won’t have any coffee.’

 

‘Then look who’ll turn into a monster,’ joked Bruce before he got up and walked back to the cabin to change.

 

 

~

 

 

Steve had been right. The night after Bruce had hulked out he felt an unusual disturbance in the water. He knew what it was and it was exactly what he had been waiting for. He swam to the surface as quick as he could and there it was, in the light of the full moon: a beautiful white unicorn, drinking water from the lake. Steve dove under again, made his way to the shore and came up a few meters away from the magnificent animal. He wasn’t sure how to approach it,  what to say, but he didn’t have to, the animal spoke to him.

 

‘I knew you were still here. Are the humans still here as well? Did they force you to do this? Because I can help you.’

 

‘No, no!’ said Steve, swimming a little closer. ‘The humans are still here, but they are sleeping. And even if they’re not, they moved at least a mile away from the lake, so they can’t see us. They don’t know you’re here.’

 

‘It’s not a trap?’ asked the unicorn wary, looking around, searching for anything that was out of ordinary.

 

‘No, I promise,’ said the merman, coming even closer until he was sitting in the sand. ‘They caught me a bit over a month ago, but they only wanted my help. I couldn’t and that’s why we’re here, because I hoped one of you could help us.’

 

‘Why would a merman that is caught by humans try to help them? Why would I trust you?’

 

‘If you know the humans are here you have seen the green monster, haven’t you?’ asked Steve. ‘I don’t know what happened, but the man wasn’t born that way. There was an accident when he tried to find a cure for other people and now every time his heartbeat speeds up he turns into that monster. He can’t control it. Even though they took me from my home I felt sorry for him. I have always been interested in the human behaviour and the way that they live, so I decided to travel with them and help them to find a cure. I know that if there is a cure, a unicorn would know about it.’

 

‘I have seen the monster and I can see why it is a problem. I’m not sure if I can help though,’ said the unicorn. ‘But what does he want? Does he want the monster to disappear? Does he want to control it? Does he want to use it for his own good?’

 

Steve shook his head. ‘He wants it to disappear, but we all know that would probably be impossible. It’s part of him. Getting rid of the monster would probably kill him. If it’s possible to get rid of it in the first place. He hoped to find a way to control it, so he can decide whether the monster comes out or not. A bit like I can change my tail into legs and back. That’s why they hoped I could help them. But I can’t. I don’t know how I control my body. It’s more like a natural reflex.’

 

‘Isn’t it the same for him?’ mocked the unicorn. ‘The monster is there to protect him.’

 

‘But his protection is a threat to the people around him. You have seen it. We need to fix him.’

 

‘Just him, little merman? Just him? Or do you need fixing too? Are you getting attached to your legs? Are you getting attached to those humans? Or just one in particular?’

 

Steve bowed his head. ‘I have to admit that I thought about it, but I would never give up my tail. Not for a human.’

 

‘Good. I want to talk to the human. Alone! Make sure he will be here by dawn.’

 

 

~

 

 

Bruce sat on the shore, rubbing his eyes. It was way too early for this, but if Steve was telling the truth he was going to meet a unicorn. The scientist wasn’t sure if he wasn’t still sleeping and just dreaming all of this. Especially since there was a merman sitting next to him who seemed to glow very nicely in the light of the upcoming sun. So unreal. Tony would have enjoyed the view if he had been awake at this godforsaken hour. Thankfully Steve hadn’t woken him up.

 

‘He is here,’ said the merman and Bruce opened his eyes. The unicorn was glowing too. Damn, what was it with these magical creatures and the reflection of sunlight? But when it came closer it was much more like a normal horse than Bruce had imagined. Steve had told him the unicorn could speak all languages as well, just like he could. When the horse started speaking Bruce had to stop himself from laughing. This really had to be a dream.

 

‘Leave us alone.’

 

Steve changed to legs, stood up and left. Bruce watched him leave and then looked at the unicorn. That horn was pretty big and he had never really liked horses to begin with. But the animal kneeled and lay down next to him in the sand.

 

They talked for a long time. Bruce explained what happened and how exactly he had turned into the Hulk. The unicorn simply listened and nodded now and then. When he heard the entire story he told him about every solution he could think of. It was hours later when they stood up and both left in different directions.

 

Bruce made his way back to the cabin. It was a long walk, he was tired and he hadn’t eaten anything yet. It took him longer than necessary to get to their little camp, but he wanted to think about everything a little longer. When he finally did arrive Peter jumped out of the van.

 

‘How did it go?! What did he say? Is there a solution? I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were actually going to meet a unicorn!’

 

‘Can you give me some food?’ Bruce asked. ‘And where is Tony? It’s easier to tell you all at once.’

 

‘In there,’ Peter motioned with his head. He grabbed some food from the mini fridge in their van. ‘When we woke up Steve was in your place and Tony was….pleasantly surprised. When the touching, kissing and sexual tension got too much I fled.’

 

Bruce rolled his eyes. ‘Let’s split them up.’ He grabbed the handle of the door, but stopped when he heard a ‘no, Tony, not anymore’ coming through.

 

‘Come on, you can do it. And I know you secretly enjoy it.’

 

‘But it’s too hard!’

 

For a split second Peter and Bruce looked at each other before Bruce slammed the door open. Tony and Steve were sitting against the wall on the far side of the cabin, a laptop in Steve’s hands. They both looked up in surprise when the door opened.

 

‘What the hell were you doing?’

 

‘I was teaching him to play some games,’ answered Tony, one eyebrow raised. ‘Got any food for us? How was your talk with the unicorn?’

 

Peter gave them all a sandwich and handed Steve the box of fish flakes. Tony put the laptop aside and they all sat down in a circle.

 

‘He couldn’t do anything,’ started Bruce. Tony was about to get angry, but the scientist stopped him. ‘He explained different ways to control my anger and my heartbeat. I won’t have full control, but it will be harder to _lose_ control. Apparently the only real solution is getting bitten by a vampire or a werewolf. I will be rid of the Hulk, but I will be a werewolf or vampire the rest of my life. He suggested I talk to them before I let them bite me.’

 

‘Vampires and werewolves?’ asked Peter. ‘Really?’

 

‘You’ve been travelling around with a merman, but you have a hard time believing in vampires and werewolves?’ asked Steve. ‘They do exist and they can change people by biting them. But you’ll have a lot of other problems to deal with then, Bruce. Vampires do need blood now and then and werewolves only live in groups. You won’t be allowed to live on your own.’

 

‘Are they dangerous?’ asked Tony.

 

‘Not really,’ answered Steve. ‘Werewolves can be a bit out of control, but if you don’t threaten them we will be fine. Like the unicorn said, we should probably just talk to them. They know more about the way their bodies changed.’

 

‘Where can we find them?’ asked Bruce. ‘I want to give this a try. If it’s not working I’ll just stop and live with the Hulk the rest of my life.’

 

Peter grabbed a map and put it in between them. Steve stared at it for a while and then pointed at a few different places. Tony got up, folded the map and shut down his computers.

 

‘Madagascar and Romania it is.’

 

 

~

 

 

Who would have thought that the biggest pack of werewolves actually lived in Madagascar? There were other packs, smaller ones, scattered across the earth, but a whole bunch of them lived on the African island. They were way harder to find than any other creature before, because they looked just like humans. The scientists had to wait until the full moon before they actually found the pack in the rain forest.

 

They weren’t the monsters they thought it would be. Okay, they did hunt down some animals and they did eat them, but after that they were pretty relaxed. Still, none of the guys wanted to go and see if they would want to talk to them, so Steve stepped forward to do it. Tony tried to stop him, but Steve pulled out of his grip, pushed some bushes aside and went to take a look. There were no sounds of flesh being ripped off bones, no cries and no howling, so the scientists assumed it went well.

 

Tony got nervous and after two hours he wanted to go and get Steve back. Bruce stopped him, explained that it might be more dangerous to interrupt than to wait. Waiting had never been Tony’s strongest point, but he was rewarded: half an hour later Steve returned unharmed.

 

He told them that the Hulk would most probably disappear if Bruce would get bitten, but every full moon he would feel the urge to hunt and it wouldn't go away until he would have killed something. That was the reason why the werewolves got out of the town on the day before the full moon. Bruce wasn't allowed to live outside of a pack, because one wolf on its own could, uncontrolled by a group, do a lot of damage to humans.

 

Bruce had heard enough. He was not becoming a werewolf. He dragged them all back to the plane and on the very same day they flew to Romania.

 

Finding a vampire was a lot easier than expected. A man that called himself a vampire used his house as a touristic attraction and his name was everywhere on the internet. At first the scientists thought he was a fraud, but when they went to take a look and walked between a bunch of kids on a tour group through the house Steve said he was for real. He recognized the little things he had seen about vampires before. Unlike the stories vampires did have a reflection and they could stand garlic. But the very few windows in the house, because they did prefer darkness and the many bats that hung around were enough evidence for Steve. He approached him about it and they made an appointment for that evening.

 

They met the man again that night. Peter didn't like it at all, but joining the others was better than staying alone in the car.

 

The vampire wasn’t eager to tell a group of scientists more about himself. Steve had to explain how he knew the vampire was the real deal and when the man heard Steve was a merman he gave answers more easily. They told him about Bruce's situation and he told them everything they needed to know about life as a vampire. They learned hardly any vampire sucked blood anymore, unless they had a willing partner. They used blood transfusion these days. Disguised as an illness they would visit the hospital every week. Becoming a vampire cured illnesses, in some cases even blindness, but it would definitely not cure the Hulk. Worse, he'd probably need more blood than any other vampires.

 

By the time Steve had translated it all Bruce was squirming in his chair. The vampire laughed. Without Bruce even having to tell him he wasn't going to do it he already knew he wasn't getting any neck tonight. He asked him if he was absolutely sure, and that when he changed his mind he could always come back.

 

 

They thanked the man and left. A few hours later they were on Tony's plane again. Steve sat in the tub, the others had gathered around him.

 

'We could ask my friend Sam,' said Steve. 'He is a white fairy and I remember he once told me he lives in a country called Brazil. He might know something.'

 

'I can't,' said Peter. 'I was supposed to be back at school a week ago.'

 

'I just want to go home,' sighed Bruce tiredly. 'I will have to learn how to live with the other guy. I'll just practice what the unicorn told me. Best if there are a lot of people around to test my patience.'

 

'Alright,' answered Tony. 'Then let's fly to New York and drop you guys off. Bruce do you really wanna stop searching for answers?'

 

'Yes, for now.'

 

And that's how their little trip around the world ended. For Bruce and Peter that is. As soon as the two were back home Tony grinned at the merman and dragged him into the city. They spend a long day there, shopping, sightseeing and eating, only to end up dancing in a club.

 

It was weird, but wonderful. Steve had the time of his life. He was carrying a bottle of water around all the time, but it was worth it. He had seen the city several times, but he never enjoyed it the way he did with Tony.

 

When Steve’s body started burning they left, but they didn't feel like going home. Not anytime soon! So they flew to Brazil to talk to Sam. For Bruce of course. It had nothing to do with the fact that they didn't want to leave each other yet.

 

 

~

 

 

After visiting Sam and leaving without any answers they flew back to Malibu. They might have stopped over at Rio, but only for a day. If you were in Brazil you couldn’t leave without experiencing Rio, right?  But they couldn’t drag this travelling out much longer. Even though Pepper was the CEO, Tony was still the biggest shareholder of the company and he had to show up to some of the meetings. Also they needed new products which the billionaire often designed. He hadn’t done much of that while they were on the move.

 

Pepper started to get impatient and then Tony knew he’d gone too far. Pepper was the most patient person he knew in the entire world and he knew a lot of people. So after months of travelling they found themselves back at the airport, his sports car was waiting for him. Tony’s driver would take the van back with all their luggage and equipment.

 

The drive back to the house was too short and too silent. Both men knew it was going to end here, but neither wanted to talk about it. They just let the wind blow through their hair and watched how the sun sunk in the sea. Tony parked the car on the driveway, not bothering to open the garage and they both stepped out. Down below was the beach and the sea. Steve stared at it for a few moments before turning to Tony.

 

‘I guess that was it then,’ he said with a sad smile. ‘I really enjoyed it. Thank you for everything. You literally showed me the world and it was amazing.’

 

‘You’re welcome,’ answered Tony. ‘But you know, there is one thing you still haven’t tried and I really think you should, before you go back.’

 

‘What would that be?’ asked Steve, brows furrowed, trying to think of what Tony could be talking about.

 

‘A bed! You still haven’t slept in a bed! And you know what? I have the nicest, softest and fluffiest bed in the entire world. So I’d say we have some food and then try it out. You can leave tomorrow.’

 

'I'd love that,' smiled Steve and he followed Tony inside.

 

Butler Jarvis was already waiting, but he didn't expect his boss to bring company. 'I'm afraid I only prepared food for one,' he said. 'It will take a few more minutes, my apologies.'

 

'No need,' answered Tony, making his way to the dining room. On his way he grabbed apples and bananas from the fruits basket on the table. 'Get us the box of fish flaked and a huge bottle of water. We can share.’

 

He sat down and pointed Steve to sit down next to him. The blond had learned to eat a lot of human food, but Jarvis probably made something heavy. The man always made sure Tony ate a decent meal when he was home. So when it was served the billionaire handed Steve the fruits and a knife and picked some vegetables of his plate and shoved them toward the blond. Jarvis brought the flakes, the water and a bowl and Steve mixed the flakes with the water before he carefully started peeling an apple.

 

It was not like any romantic dinner Tony had before, but he liked it better than all previous ones together. Steve was talking about the things they had done the last few months and wondered out loud how Peter, Bruce, Clint and Nat would be doing. Now and then he stole something from Tony's plate.

 

For a change Tony didn't say much. He was thinking. He was wishing he had someone like Steve to eat with every day. He knew he was lying to himself. He didn't want someone, he wanted Steve. He had fallen for a merman.

 

'Is something wrong?' asked Steve suddenly, waking Tony from his thoughts.

 

'I'm fine, just thinking I'm glad you decided to stay tonight.'

 

Steve frowned, then smirked. 'You know that if you try to have sex with me in that bed I probably suffocate, right?'

 

Tony started laughing. Steve surprised him every time again, but he loved it about the man. He took a minute to catch his breath again.  'Best fucking death ever! Literally!'

 

'Depends on how good you are,' laughed Steve.

 

'Oh, the best! You don't know what you're missing out on!'

 

They joked and laughed until all the food was gone and Jarvis took their dessert plates away. It was already pretty late, so Tony took Steve to his bathroom and filled the tub. The merman soaked a little while Tony took a shower. After an hour they both got out, wrapped themselves in big fluffy towels in search for pyjamas. It all felt like the weirdest, but best slumber party ever to Tony.

 

Eventually they dropped down on the bed. Steve moaned loudly and buried himself in the blankets.

 

'If I'd known beds were this nice I would have slept in one earlier.'

 

Tony put a few water bottles next to the bed were Steve was curled up and he lay down on the other side. 'Like I said, it's just my bed that is this nice. Best bed in the world!'

 

'I'm not ever leaving again,' came the merman's muffled words from somewhere beneath the blankets.

 

'Where do you normally sleep? At home I mean, in the sea. You have seen so much of the human world, but you never told me anything about life under water.'

 

'Didn't think you would be interested,' answered Steve. 'You only seemed to care about my abilities to change from tail to legs and my magical friends. Wasn't sure if you wanted to know.'

 

'Of course I want to know! And not just for science!' stated Tony. 'If I could explore your world with you I would totally do so! But I don't wanna drown, so tell me! Do you have a house?'

 

'Nothing like yours,' started Steve. 'You know how there are mountains under water? In a lot of those mountains live mermen. We make caves of different sizes and people can start living there. If you start a family you get a bigger cave. But we don't spend much time inside, we only sleep there and keep some personal stuff around. We’re outside most of the time, finding food, teaching kids, defending out cities from sharks and whales. I have a small cave of my own, but I only keep my shield in there that I use when guarding the borders.’

 

‘You only have a shield while fighting sharks?’ Tony asked almost shocked.

 

‘We do have weapons and we also have armour, but a shield is the best way to keep them from biting you. Or to keep humans at a distance and hide yourself for them. But I can’t walk around with armour when I’m not on duty. That is why I couldn’t defend myself against you.’

 

‘No, you can’t defend yourself against my irresistible charm, armour or no armour.’

 

‘You wish!’ laughed Steve. ‘If I had my shield that day I would have kicked your ass.’

 

‘I would have liked to see that. You probably look hot as hell in that armour of yours. Don’t know how you guys make stuff like that under water, but damn everything suits you. Do you look like some merman gladiator? All dirty and roughed up, messy hair and blood?’

 

‘I don’t know what a gladiator is, but yeah, I do get hurt sometimes. We heal quicker than humans though, or we’d lose too much blood. Would only attract more sharks.’

 

‘But what do you do for fun?’ asked the billionaire. ‘Can’t be just work, work, work all the time!’

 

‘We travel or tell each other stories.  There are plenty of games to play under water. But our job is the most important. As a kid we go learn all the things we have to know to survive and play with our friends. When we grow older we can chose what we do. Most chose to do something around the city, like watching children, gathering food, creating things that make life easier, but I wanted to see the world. I was trained as a guard and I managed to join the border guardians. With a group we swim out to a certain part of the ocean and stay there for like a month. We check everything, starting with the shores, seeing if anything has changed or if anything looks dangerous. Our biggest threat are humans on the beaches that are used during mating season. If there are humans we have to get them out of there without them noticing us. We also keep an eye on dangerous animals. If there are suddenly  a lot of sharks in a certain area we have to check what is going on and fix it.’

 

‘Could be dangerous.’

 

‘Yes, sometimes it’s dangerous, but it’s also fun. You get to see a lot of places and when we have time off we can go and explore the place. That is how I met Sam and that’s why I know about the existence of unicorns and other creatures.’

 

‘You never have to fear anything from other mermen?’ asked Tony.

 

‘What?’ asked Steve. ‘Of course not. We all work together. There aren’t that many of us left. Humans are taking over more and more of the sea, harbours are growing. Not only is there less space for us, but sometimes mermen get caught in the thrusters of ships and the water is getting dirtier every day.’

 

‘I hate humans,’ sighed Tony.

 

‘I don’t,’ laughed Steve. ‘They are interesting. Life is never boring around humans.’

 

‘But you still want to go back,’ said the genius, more serious now.

 

‘Yes,’ answered the blond, not looking Tony in the eyes. ‘I have to. I have to help the mermen and protect them. I will never be a human.’

 

‘Then enjoy your last night with one,’ said Tony and he wrapped his arm around Steve. They wanted to talk more, but all the travelling and the difference in time zones had made them tired and soon they fell asleep.

 

 

~

 

 

Hands pushed deep in his pockets Tony followed Steve as they walked towards the sea. It was going to happen, Steve was going to back home and Tony was going to be all alone again. He was already planning to go to New York, less lonely, more work. But New York was just not as nice as Malibu.

 

He watched how Steve took off his clothes and folded them neatly. Tony soaked in the sight one last time. The blond truly had the body of a Greek god. He had seen it several times, but this was not something he would ever get used to. It was worse when Steve turned to face him.

 

'Tony, thank you for everything.'

 

Steve wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled Tony in for a kiss. Tony tried to keep it short and simple, but Steve didn't allow him. He deepened the kiss the moment he had the chance. He grabbed Tony's hands and put them on his naked ass.

 

Tony moaned. This was not good. This was very good. This was too good. This was way too good. That ass felt even better than it looked. He couldn't stop massaging it. Steve couldn't keep his hands in check either. He pushed Tony's shirt up and touched his back and hips. He pulled him closer, so their entire bodies were touching. They both moaned as their hips grinded together.

 

'Stop it,' cried Tony. 'Don't start something you won't finish!'

 

'But the plan was that we do finish it,' whispered Steve in his ear before he started kissing Tony's neck.

 

'You said you would fucking suffocate if we'd do this!' groaned Tony, showing more neck, but not really wanting to continue. 'Do you have a death wish?'

 

Steve chuckled and stepped back. He pointed at his feet. He was standing in the water.

 

'All mermen have sex on beaches. I'll try to keep my feet in the water and the sand is wet, so I'll be fine. Just keep an eye on my breathing and keep me moisturized then we can have a lot of fun.'

 

For a moment Tony just stared at the blond without moving. Then he started stripping. In record time he was naked and pressed against Steve again.He was already getting hard. Steve seemed to appreciate it, because he moaned softly when Tony bumped against his leg. He grabbed Tony's face and pulled him in another kiss. Minutes passed, before they broke up because of Steve's raspy breathing.

 

'How do you wanna do this?' asked Tony.

 

Steve lay down in the sand, making sure he was still connected with the water before he beckoned Tony to join him. The billionaire kneeled down next to him, but Steve pulled him on top of him.

 

'Do me. Make me feel good?'

 

'Yesssss,' hissed Tony. 'Yes I will.'

 

He started kissing Steve's chest. He was afraid of kissing his neck, not wanting to damage, or worse, activate, his gills. Nipples were way more interesting to play with anyway. Tony licked one, pinched the other, bit softly and rubbed gently, getting all kinds of lovely sounds from Steve. He could feel that the blond got turned on, so he continued until Steve was unsure if he should beg for more or beg to stop.

 

'Suck my fingers,' commanded Tony, reaching out. Steve took the hand, started sucking seductively on one finger. He looked through his eyelashes at Tony and smiled around the finger before letting it go.

 

'Will you suck my finger too?'

 

'Dirty, dirty boy!'

 

Tony moved lower, but let Steve hold his hand. It was an awkward position, but the beautiful big penis he was going to suck made up for it. He held Steve’s hips down with one hand and gave an experimental lick. Steve’s skin was saltier than that of any human, probably the reason why he needed so much water, but down there it was even worse. Tony liked it though. It was different, it wasn’t bad at all, it was Steve.

 

He took it in his mouth, going slow. Steve was impatient and Tony didn't want him to cum too soon. He wanted to enjoy this too. Tony slowly took more and more in his mouth until he felt like he was going to choke. He hollowed his cheeks, sucked softly, before he slowly moved back to the tip. There he bit Steve gently and the blond had to let go of Tony's fingers just to breathe.

 

Tony moved his hand to Steve's ass. His fingers completely wet, so he carefully inserted one. Steve sucked in his breath and only let go when Tony reminded him about it.

 

'More?' asked the blond, spreading his legs further, so Tony had better access. Tony moved his finger around, stretching the muscles a little before he added a second. A long, low moan escaped Steve's mouth. Tony rewarded him for taking this so well by taking Steve's dick back in his mouth. He lapped his tongue around it and licked the slit until Steve's was so caught up in his pleasure that he didn't feel the third finger entering him.

 

When Tony was done preparing he let go of Steve completely.

 

'What are you doing?' asked the blond.

 

'Are you ready?' asked Tony and when Steve nodded the billionaire positioned himself between Steve's legs. He pressed the tip of his dick against the ring of muscles and hesitated for a moment. This was too dry, too raw, it was going to hurt for both of them.

 

Then suddenly Steve sat up, wrapped his arms around him and pulled Tony closer. He kissed him passionately. A shudder ran through Tony's body. Steve wanted him. Tony took his dick in his hand and slowly guided himself inside.

 

Steve was tight, very tight, but it was hardly as painful as Tony had expected.  Mermen were more moist and supple and not only on the outside. It felt like Steve's body adjusted itself to the intrusion. It didn't seem to hurt the blond, because he grabbed Tony's ass and pulled him closer, pushing Tony's cock deeper inside him. They moaned in each other’s mouth.

 

Tony wanted to let Steve adjust, but Steve wouldn't hear of it. 'Move!' he ordered.

 

The brunet loved how this hot man ordered him around. So he moved his hips around in circles, pulling out slightly, giving short thrusts. Steve pushed his hips up, trying to get closer, trying to get more.

 

Seeing Steve's eagerness turned Tony on even more. He moved quicker, pulled out further, pushed in harder. Steve tried to move with Tony's rhythm, but couldn't quite get it right. So he just tried to meet the thrusts and kissed every inch of Tony's skin that was within his reach.

 

Tony was on the edge. Steve was squeezing his dick tightly and kept asking for more and more, moaning in between kisses how he didn't have enough of Tony's cock and that he wanted it deeper. Tony gave him everything he could. He moved faster, slammed in harder so he could get deeper. He knew he had found Steve's prostate, because the merman was crying out every time he thrust inside him.

 

Steve was panting heavily and when Tony thought it started to sound like hyperventilating he started talking to him.

'Breathe slower, Steve. You're so good, you feel so good. Just breathe slower or I'll slow down. You're so sexy, you're so tight, beautiful boy. Slow breathing. You can do it. You're amazing. I'll give you something if you keep breathing, my hottie. Good job, you're so good.'

 

His rambling helped, Steve's breathing slowed down and Tony grabbed his dick to give him his reward. He started kneading and pulling in rhythm with his thrusts. Steve dug his nails in Tony's back, bit down on his lip. Tony moved his thumb over the slit and that drove Steve over the edge. He made lovely red scratches on Tony's back as he came over Tony's hand and his own stomach. He moaned loudly as the brunet kept pulling his sensitive cock until he felt empty.

 

Tony lifted Steve's legs out of the water and put them over his shoulders. He slammed himself inside as deep as he could. He felt Steve clenching impossibly tight around him and he kept calling Tony's name. Only a minute later Tony lost it, his mind went blank and he came. With the last short thrusts he poured his cum inside of Steve.

 

Tony fell down on top of Steve. He slid out, checked if the merman was still in contact with the sea and then he rested his head on Steve's chest. He could feel Steve was still breathing heavily, but he was getting better. His hands were still on Tony's back, but no longer scratching, they were gently drawing patterns. There was sand everywhere and it was uncomfortable, but they ignored it.

 

'That was amazing,' smiled Steve.

 

'You were amazing,' sighed Tony happily.

 

For a long time they just lay on the beach, not moving from their spot. But they started to feel sticky and the wind started to feel a bit cold on their sweaty bodies. They got up and walked into the water. They washed away the sand and the cum until they were clean again.

 

Tony turned to face Steve. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again when he noticed Steve's tail. He was immediately brought back to the harsh reality. Steve looked equally sad.

 

'Thank you, Tony.'

 

'No, thank you,' answered the billionaire. He hugged Steve shortly. 'If you ever feel like eating some food or talking a swim in my pool, you know where to find me.'

 

'I will, for sure,' said Steve. He kissed Tony one last time before he dove under water and disappeared.

 

 

~

 

 

‘What the hell! Steve?! You’re alive?! Where the hell have you been?’

 

Steve smiled at Bucky, his best friend and fellow guard. He knew he would find the man in the practice areas near their caves. It’s where they used to hang out together if they weren’t somewhere half across the ocean.

 

‘It’s good to see you Buck. Sorry I was gone so long. I was captured by humans and…’

 

‘WHAT?!’ shouted Bucky. ‘You were captured by humans and they held you for almost three months?! How did you escape? Did they hurt you? What the fuck happened!’

 

‘Relax, I’m fine,’ answered Steve and he dragged his friend off to a place with less people around. Talking under water felt weird after being out of the water for so long. ‘I got captured by a group of humans on the first day of mating season. I wasn’t the only one, they also got a centaur and a black fairy. At first I thought they wanted to put us up for display and show us to the world, but one of them…well, he was sick and they were trying to find a cure. No human healing methods could help him and they were looking for new ways to help him. They didn’t hurt us. When we found out they only wanted our help we tried to help.’

 

‘No, no, no, no, wait! You tried to help humans? The creatures that kill us, destroy our homes and slowly make us go extinct? You helped those humans?’

 

‘Yes, they were desperate,’ explained Steve, becoming a little less patient, because Bruce, Peter and Tony were not bad guys. ‘They needed that cure and they gave us everything we needed. They even build a complete water tank and I could adjust the temperature of the water and everything. They gave us food and shelter and when we couldn’t help them they brought us back where we belonged. They only wanted to ask for our help.’

 

‘They kept you for three months!’ shouted Bucky. ‘Why are you defending them?’

 

‘Because not all humans are bad! Because we tried to help each other! Because I travelled the world with them! They dragged around gallons of water, just for me. They could have thrown me back in the ocean, but they didn’t. Yes, I was captured and yes, I was angry at first. But they were nice, I had fun. I’m happy I’m back, but I enjoyed myself, Buck.’

 

‘Alright, I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re back,’ answered Bucky. ‘I was worried about you and I missed you. Hey, if you want to see more of the world, I have to leave in a few days to the unicorn place! If we let the big boss know you’re still alive you could come too!’

 

‘Australia.’

 

‘What?’’

 

‘The land where the unicorns live is called Australia. I’ve been there with Tony, Bruce and Peter. We talked to a unicorn about a solution,’ answered Steve.

 

Bucky’s scowl returned. ‘Well, no need for you to go there anymore then,’ he said angrily before he swam away.

 

Steve should have known this was going to happen and he should have been nicer about it. Bucky had once been caught by humans and for hours he had been fighting to get away. When he managed to escape he was bruised and bleeding. Steve had to fight off three sharks before they made it to the safety of their caves. Bucky didn’t know humans like Steve did. He would never know humans the way Steve did and that is why he never told his friend the rest of the story.

 

He went to see some other people that day, letting everyone that mattered know that he was still alive before he returned to his cave. Everything was exactly like the day he left. Like he had been gone three hours instead of three months. He almost wished it had only been three hours. It would make things with Bucky less complicated.

 

But the very next day Bucky came to get him. He woke Steve up and dragged him to their commander to give the blond back his place in their team. The commander was very happy to see one of his best guards return, so he gladly accepted Steve back. After a few days full of practicing their fighting skills they were already on their way to Australia, the kidnapping forgotten by everyone but Steve.

 

It was easy, falling back in the old pattern of guarding the borders. Their trip went smooth, the borders were secure and they didn’t have to do any fighting. They checked different parts of the coastline for two weeks, but nothing out of ordinary happened. The difficult part started when they got some time off and Bucky decided they should go and see something of the country.

 

‘Come on, Steve, it will be fun!’

 

Steve hesitated, but joined him anyway. It could be just like old times. They made their way to a human city and looked at the many lights. It was absolutely beautiful, but Steve’s heart ached. He had once been walking through those cities. He liked the lights much better when Tony had showed them to him. It became worse when they saw couples take a romantic walk past the river. They were laughing, talking and kissing and Steve missed doing that with Tony. He kept shut about it.

 

Bucky didn't notice that Steve's smile had disappeared, he didn't notice the small frown. He was making fun of humans with the others for hours. The rising sun was their sign to leave and they decided to explore some places without human beings. They found a small river that brought them deeper into the country.

 

The place was beautiful, absolutely beautiful and Steve forgot about everything for a while. They found a little beach, unharmed by humans, and decided to stay there the rest of the week. Bucky almost immediately disappeared with one of the female guards, leaving Steve with some people he hardly knew. They played stupid games in the water, so the blond made his way to the shore and sat down there.  He simply enjoyed the sun on his skin. It had been so long. He had missed his legs.

 

Steve took a little walk around, exploring the area in search of some fruits. He had enough of krill. He looked around for the right trees, but couldn't find any. Maybe fruits didn't grow in these lands? He was about to turn back to the river when he heard suspicious sounds in the bushes not far from him. Steve stood still and kept quiet. He was naked and vulnerable, he would definitely lose any fight at the moment. Still he took a position to defend himself when the noise came closer.

 

A familiar horn appeared above the bushes and Steve relaxed when a unicorn stepped in sight.

'So it is you!' said the unicorn. 'I thought I smelled you, but it was more salty than I remembered. Are the humans at the river? Did you find a cure?'

 

'No,' answered Steve. 'We didn't find a cure, but your meditation lessons helped Bruce a lot. The last time we spoke with you was the last time he changed into a monster. He has a lot more control. So he is home now, they all went home. I'm here with the mermen on a guarding job.'

 

'I'm surprised you went home too, ' said the unicorn. 'Why don't you climb on my back? I'll walk you back to the river.'

 

The unicorn lay down on the ground and Steve easily hopped onto his back.

 

'You were the most curious merman I met in a very long time. I thought you got bored of the sea and decided to continue living with the humans. You found some good ones, that's a rare thing. Did they tell you to go?'

 

'No they didn't. They all went their separate ways, back to their friends and family,' said Steve. 'So did I. I'm a merman, not a human. I belong in the water to help protect my people.'

 

'There is a hint of a smell of human on you thought,' continued the unicorn. 'You had a connection with one of them, yet you still returned to the sea. You don't look happy, very unlike the man that was waiting for me in the water weeks ago. It's not the place where you are born that decides where you belong, merman.'

 

'But I need so much water. The humans had to drag around water for me all the time. I felt bad about that. They could have done without me and it would all have been a lot easier. I don't want to be a bother. I can do what I have to do with my own kind, I wouldn't know what to do in the world of humans.'

 

'You're stubborn and you worry needlessly. You made a connection out of love. He can't follow you into the water, but you can follow him onto the land.'

 

'You're telling me to do what I’ve wanted to do ever since I left him?'

 

'Yes I am. And we both know that you will. Send them my regards.'

 

 

~

 

 

After their little week of fun Steve and his group had to get to work again. Two more weeks of patrolling past the coast of Australia. He wasn't one to ditch his work or his friends, but he wished time could pass quicker.

 

They had all seen him talk with the unicorn, but they weren't surprised. Steve was always the first to approach new creatures. He had friends among many different species, so nobody asked what it had been about. Not even Bucky. He only joked that Steve probably invented a special echo locate sound that made everyone like him. Steve simply smiled at that.

 

Two weeks they did their jobs. Two weeks they kept the mermen safe. Two weeks and Steve's mind drifted to Tony more and more often. Two weeks and they finally could go home.

 

When they were almost back home Bucky came to swim next to him. He looked concerned.

'Steve, you've been quiet ever since our week off. What is going on? You're not acting like yourself.'

 

'I don't know who I am anymore,' sighed the blond. 'I'm sorry, Buck.'

 

'You're leaving,' stated Bucky. It wasn't a question. 'At least tell me why! Is it the humans? You're going back to them. Did you....did you find one to love? Did you find a human girl?'

 

'You know me too well,' smiled Steve sadly. 'I think I found love. I hope I did. I'm going back to see him.'

 

'Him? A man,' asked Bucky and he sighed. 'I should have known. You never liked mating season. Steve, I don't like it. I don't like humans and I wish we could continue to fight together, but if you want to go, you should go. If he makes you happy you should go. I hope we can still see each other and have fun sometimes. And if he ever hurts you I will come to kick his ass.'

 

'I would be insulted if you didn’t,' laughed Steve. 'Thank you, Bucky. I promise you can meet him one day.'

 

They hugged for a long time before they both went their separate ways.

 

 

~

 

 

Pepper Potts was walking around Tony's house. Ever since he came back from his trip with Bruce, Peter and that merman he wasn't himself anymore. Or maybe he became more like himself. He hardly came out of his workshop, he didn't bother to eat or drink anything else than coffee and he was working on a strange personal project that wouldn't benefit a single person in the world.

 

She didn't hear from him the first two weeks, but that was no surprise. When Tony was working he forgot about everything. But he didn't come up with great new products for the business either and that was a first. Pepper had tried calling him, but he didn't pick up. He didn't answer any texts either.

 

When Tony didn't show up for the biggest and most important shareholders meeting of the year, the only one he never skipped, she started to worry. Instead of calling Tony she called Jarvis and asked what was going on. The butler could only tell her that mister Stark hadn't left his workshop ever since he came back. He ate his meals in there and slept on the couch.

 

Pepper was shocked that Tony hadn't shown himself for more than three weeks. He hadn't even been that bad when she broke up with him. So she immediately arranged the plane, flew to Malibu and made her way to the workshop.

 

Just in time to safe Tony from drowning.

 

He was wearing a weird outfit and lay on the bottom of the water tank. With one push on an emergency button the tank was drained and Tony was saved. The moment he climbed out of the oversized aquarium she dragged him out of the workshop by his ear.

 

She made him eat, bathe and sleep until he didn't look like a zombie anymore. Only then she allowed him to go back to the workshop and she joined him to see if he wasn't accidentally killing himself again.

 

Pepper wondered where his sudden interest in diving was coming from. But she understood when she noticed a picture on his computer: a smiling merman in a bathtub.

 

Tony was searching for a way to stay underwater for a long time, so he could visit that merman.

She felt a pang of jealousy. He would never have done something like that for her. But at the same time she felt sorry, because he was never going to see the blond man again.

 

It was the only reason she stayed for almost three weeks. He was trying so hard to make something that was not going to work out. The moment she left he would forget about proper hygiene and beds again. She had to get back to New York though.

 

It was about six weeks after Tony got back that Pepper was at her limit. She wasn't a babysitter, she was the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world and she had to get back to work. She searched for Jarvis to instruct him about taking care of Tony, but she couldn't find the butler. She did find a note in the kitchen that said he was gone for a few minutes. Something with arranging groceries.

 

Pepper sighed. She had woken up early, because she had hoped to be back in New York before dinner. She really had to meet up with some people, but that probably had to wait until tomorrow. She sighed again when the doorbell rang. Of course someone had to come when Jarvis wasn’t around to greet them.

 

She turned on her heels and marched to the door. Her mouth fell open when she saw who was waiting on the other side.

 

 

~

 

 

Steve was nervous. He had been waiting on the beach until the sun came up, but with every passing minute he wondered if he had made the right decision. Steve couldn't stop himself. He knew it was still very early, but he walked out of the water and went to the house.

 

His armour felt weirdly heavy. He had never worn it out of the water before and he felt silly. But Tony had said he wanted to see it, he thought Steve would look sexy in it. Steve just hoped he could live up to Tony's imagination.

 

Just thinking about seeing the man again made Steve feel warm inside. He finally convinced himself he made the right decision when he reached the door. What should he do? He tried to open it, but it was locked. Should he shout? Whenever he went to get Bucky he would just call the man's name. But Tony's house was huge, he probably wouldn't hear him.

 

He remembered Romania. When they had visited the vampire Bruce had pushed a small round button that made 'ding dong' sound. Tony's house didn't have a small round button. There was a big square buttony kind of thing. Steve pushed it anyway. For a minute nothing happened, but then the door swung open. The woman that was not Tony's wife, what was her name again, was gaping at him like a fish.

 

'Wait here,' she said and she slammed the door shut again.

 

Steve could hear her heels clicking quickly on the floor. She was running. He hoped she was running to get Tony, but there was nothing he could do but wait. So he waited and waited and waited and just when he thought she wasn't going to come back the door opened again.

 

'But Pep, why the fuck do I need a...'

 

Tony suddenly noticed Steve. Steve smiled shyly.

 

'...towel,' finished the billionaire.

 

Steve realized the towel was for him. He probably looked ridiculous. He was still dripping wet, he was wearing armour that protected his arms and shoulders, but his lower body was completely naked. He was carrying around his shield, awkwardly shielding some of that nakedness.

 

But Tony didn't look any better. His hair was a mess, he hadn't shaved in days and it looked like he picked his clothes with his eyes closed. Best of it all was the big goofy grin on his face.

 

'Hi,' said Steve. 'I came to take you up on your offer and swim in your pool.'

 

'Biggest pool in the world not enough for you?' asked Tony with a smirk. He threw the big fluffy towel around Steve shoulders before he wrapped his arms around the merman and kissed him.

 


End file.
